“Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus away. Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). There they nailed him to the cross. …”
John 19:16-18a NLT
Another Good Friday, many will say, as they continue with their work-a-day lives. The shops are open. Office lights are burning. Traffic is just as heavy. Even schools are still open in some places. When the societal amnesia is confronted, people shrug, as though to say, “What is that to do with me?” They might even add, “Anyway, what’s good about nailing a man to a cross and leaving him to die?” A lady in my office once said to me, ”What’s the big deal – a lot of men were crucified in those days”. But the scoffers, shruggers and deniers then go about their business, oblivious to the reality that the dying Man on a cross held the key to their future beyond the grave. One day they will know the truth, as we read in Philippians 2:9-11, “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honour and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”. There will be no exclusions, and today’s scoffers will realise that what they dismissed on one Good Friday was in fact the crucifixion of Jesus, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world.
The enormity of what Jesus did for us has never left me, regardless of the number of Good Fridays that have passed. I still marvel at how radical and complete God’s plan was, assuring all who believe in Jesus that they will receive the gift of eternal life. I still cast my mind to Calvary, the Cross and the lonely God-man, dying for me. I will never get over His gift of love, so complete and selfless. I mourn the fact that the sin of mankind required such a radical plan, but my thanks to God know no bounds.
We pilgrims have been “washed in the blood of the Lamb”. We are assured of our salvation, and one day we too will see the prints of the nails and the hole in His side, as we fix our eyes on our wonderful Saviour. So we rejoice today that Jesus went through all that He did, just for the salvation of all who believe in Him. Today, we finish with a 300-year-old hymn by Isaac Watts, which has blessed many a person this day. With it we worship Him, the Son of God
Dear Father God, we thank You for Your Son Jesus and His sacrificial death on a Roman cross. We cannot help but praise You and thank You for all that You have done. Amen.
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride
Forbid it Lord that I should boast
Save in the death of Christ my Lord
All the vain things that charm me most
I sacrifice them to His blood
See from His head His hands His feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did ever such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown
Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing so divine
Demands my soul my life my all
Being a Pilgrim 